The Children's Crusade

(Closed to AC, Mal, Robin and Hanna)

Nate sat at his desk in his office in London. He rested his chin in his hands as his mind pondered through the mysteries of the universe and what he should have for lunch later. As an alien investigator, he'd only had a few cases in the last few months. Only one had turned out to have any relation to extra terrestrial activity. His reputation as London's best detective was still intact however, as was his reputation as London's craziest. To put it simply, Nate was bored, like really bored.

Then there was a flash of light. It was blindingly white and for a few moments Nate could see nothing. He blinked rapidly until his eyes adjusted back to the light levels the office had been at before the flash. He felt different, strange. He jumped down from his chair and bit his bottom lip in thought. "What just happened?" he wondered out loud. He was surprised at his voice, it sounded different. It was less... deep.

He headed into the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. It was clear then what change had occurred. "Cool!" Nate the now-eight-year-old boy declared with a grin.

Mal had been walking to work when suddenly a bright light blinded her, causing her to drop her travel mug and bag. Ow! What was that? She rubbed at her eyes with her fists before blinking them open. Did she- did she get shorter? Bending and picking up her things she was shocked to find out her clothes were oddly larger. How? What?...

She started to run to the closest store, tripping and miraculously not falling. Upon entering the clothes store she looked in the mirror and... didn't know what to do. She actually didn't feel like screaming for once. But Mal figured she was in need of new clothes. Oh! Maybe she could find something here..? And just take it? Hehehehee.... oh yes!

Robin closed her eyes and sighed, relaxing on the roof of some random person's house and trying to think of something entertaining to do, so the usual. Frowning, she tried to think of any planets she hadn't been to yet that she could explore. Or just look around. Hm... there was that one planet with the underwater civilization thing... It's a shame they didn't call it Atlantis... Well there was always history, maybe go meet a band from the 70's or talk to an artist? That might be fun... Sitting up, she moved to type in a coordinate for the aqua city, but stopped when she was blinded by a white light.

Assuming the light was gone because she could see her eyelids, she opened them slowly, looking around to see anything different. Nothing seemed to different... Then again there were no people to base her assumption on... Looking down at her wrist to continue going to the planet, she scowled. Why was her manipulator so loose? And why were her clothes so baggy? Oh god.. She nearly screamed. "Okay... not 14 anymore..." Wincing at the sound of her voice, she slowly got to her feet, crossing her arms as she realized she wasn't much shorter. It wasn't her fault she was so small, though! She just peaked early... Anyway, she sighed, deciding her clothes were a good enough size for her to come down and try to find some people. As long as it wasn't just her, she'd be fine... probably...

Quickly punching in the coordinates for the ground, she pushed the button and appeared with a flash of light - a few feet forward and on the edge of the side walk she was aiming to land in the middle of. Fingers... coordinates would be a bit harder now... Rolling her eyes, she crossed her arms and began walking in a random direction, coming across a more populated area within a few minutes.

Setting the glasses down on the table, she smiled at the couple. "Are you ready to order or would you like some more time?" She asked them. After taking their orders, she walked back to the kitchen and handed in the order. Only a few more minutes and she was off for the day. Two classes in the morning and then the rest of the afternoon at the book store. Two jobs to help pay off college, it was hard to navigate sometimes, but it helped with the tuition and all. After the couple have left, Hanna clocks out, grabbing her messenger bag and heading out the back. As soon as the door clocks shut, a blinding light causes her to stumble back into the door, hitting her head pretty hard.

Opening her eyes turned out to only make the headache worse. But waking up to see herself not where she had last been, but instead somewhere else, is enough to get her up and moving. A pile of fresh clothes in laying close to her, smaller, not her size. But then she realizes her clothes aren't the right size either, the ones she's wearing. They're too baggy, too big. Looking in the mirror, she lets out a gasp. "I'm an eight year old!" She exclaims, backing up and tripping over the pile of clothes. Later, after changing clothes to a better fit, she tried the door, only to find it locked. "Why am I not surprised?" She mutters, kicking the door. Shrugging her shoulders, she started pounding on the door. "Help! Help me! HELP! Somebody help me! Please!" After about a few minutes of shouting and pounding someone shouts back for her to shut up. She huffs and takes a step back. "Fine. Let's play it that way." Taking a deep breath, she lets out a high pitched, long scream on the top of her lungs, making it stretch as long as she can. The door bursts open and she immediately kicks whoever it is and darts out the door. "Sucker!" She shouts as she makes her way towards the door she sees that leads outside. Bursting through and into the moving crowd of people, she quickly loses her pursuer, but continues to run, just to be safe. It was running that caused her to run smack into someone, knocking them both to the ground. "Oof!" She got off of the person and apologized. "Sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going. Sorry." She says, not realizing that the person she had just run into was in fact Robin. The girl from that one photo booth-kidnapping-take over the world-alien-thing.

Nate scratched his head for a moment. "How'd this happen?" he wondered out loud. It was a habit he'd had even before the change. He pushed his lips out in thought as he tilted his head towards the ceiling. "Magic? doubt it. Aliens? probably..." He nodded his head in approval at his own thoughts. It only then occurred to Nate that his suit was far too large. Nate was a heck of a lot shorter as an 8-year old.

He stepped outside now and looked around. He glanced down the street to see if anyone else had been turned into a child. The street was empty. Typical. He wandered towards a nearby shop. He tried to whistle to seem inconspicuous. He then realised he couldn't whistle. That was upsetting. He pushed open the door to the shop anyway. A clothes shop. Excellent, he needed new clothes. He started to sing gently, under his breath, "I look down in my red shirt..." Then he stopped suddenly and his eyes narrowed as he looked around. The people here weren't children. That meant it was probably just him.

He did spot another child though. A girl of around the same age he was now. Why did it have to be a girl? He went to tap her on the shoulder but stopped himself. Must remember: Girls have cooties. He cleared his throat then giggled at how silly it sounded. "Excuse me?" he said making sure not to touch her. "Did you used to be a grown-up?" he grinned innocently as he asked.

Mal's eyes were wide as she searched for clothes that would be desirable to own in her child self. Was it weird that she wasn't freaking out about being a kid again? Probably not. Child Mal was careless and angry and... well, a lot of things. Paranoid and worried not one of them. Well maybe a little worried but that was it's own topic all together. Some kid was talking to her so she sighed heavily and turned around to face him, a hand on her hip and an eyebrow raised in sass. "Yeah, I use to be grown-up. What's it to ya?"

This kid was a bit nosey wasn't- wait, what? How did he know she was an adult before? Unless he was too... weird, what happened. Mal's eyes widened once more as she grabbed Nate and shook him a bit, "How did this happen? Is there a reverse? Why are we kids? Answer me, boy!"

Robin yelped, falling to the ground as Hanna ran into her. "No worries, it's okay." She sighed, standing up and brushing herself off before she finally looked up to see Hanna. "Oh hi!" She grinned, remembering her from the last time they met. "You were that one who helped me that one time with the invasion... um.. Hanna!" She pointed a finger into the air in glee, giggled as she spoke. Her head kept telling her something was wrong here. Oh! "Wait you were turned into a kid too? Alright I'm not just going mad then..." A though played in the back of her mind, thinking of how foolish she was a few years ago. So bubbly and unfocused... oh well. She simply giggled, knowing she was finding this a bit too entertaining, but when she was younger she still believed in fairy tails, so of course she was gong to be like this. Later she was going to look back on this and facepalm...

Frowning at how she hadn't been paying attention and how she had basically just tackled someone to the ground without her meaning to, Hanna stood up and smiled sheepishly at the girl, not seeing it was Robin yet as her mind was still whirling with the fact she had been running from someone. "Again. Sorry. I was running from someone." She explained, rubbing her wrist like she did when she got nervous or something. Then the gears gave a click and the picture got some color, she had just realized who she had run into. "R...Robin?" She said, watching the girl as she was talking. As the girl pointed a finger in the air and then addressed the fact that they were both eight years old now. Then suddenly, "I need a cookie." was blurted out of Hanna's mouth before she could stop herself. And after a few seconds, she realized that the whole time Robin had been talking, she had been thinking about a whole bunch of different things, all of it coming to the same thing. Cookie. A cookie sounded good. Shaking her head, Hanna's smiled at Robin. "It's nice to see you again. Only....not on the same level.." She said, seeing as to how the were both now about the same size. Then something else clicked into place and she looked down at herself. "Oh." She simply said. She was wearing bright pink clothes. All frilly and girly. Grimacing, she looked back up at Robin. "Any chance we can find any neon pinkless clothes?" She asked.

"GAH!" Nate cried out and leaped back away from her. He started to brush himself down desperately but he knew it was no good. She'd given him cooties. He'd have to see a doctor later. He looked at her with a little grin at the edges of his mouth. Then he realised she'd asked him a question. Well, 3 actually. "I don't know," he said matter of factly like it was the answer to the secret of life. His eyes seemed to light up as he said it. "But I think we should find out. Together. If you take the cooties back..."

"I'll only take the cooties back if you tell me I look good." Mal smiled devilishly at him, spreading out her arms to show off her new clothes of a pink and blue sweater, plain jeans, and white runners. "It's all that would fit me and I hate it so you have to make me feel better! Otherwise you'll just have to keep the cooties and I'll figure things out all by myself!" She nodded, pleased with her plan as she stared expectantly at Nate. "Oh, I'm Mal by the way."

Robin shrugged, "I dunno, I guess we can go look for something." She grinned, taking Hanna's hand and skipping further into town, looking around for anything she could read... "What about that place?" She asked, pointing towards a store with some maniquins in the window. That seemed good enough, if they sold clothes, then it was a clothing store. Simple as that. "I don't see the problem in neon pink, though, it's bright in fun." She giggled, glancing back at the Hanna she just dragged along behind her. "Come on, then, we don't have all day!" Starting a sprint into the store, she continued dragging her friend behind her, almost getting run over by a car as she crossed the street.

Hanna smiled at Robin and let her lead her around the town, not really paying much attention as to where they were going, but as to where they were leaving. If whoever had followed her, she didn't want Robin to get caught up in it. But, seeing no one, she let the worry slip from her mind, Robin having pulled her attention anyways. Again, another smile and a nod added this time. "That's perfect." She said, looking to where the girl was pointing. Shrugging, Hanna tugged at the frills on her clothes. "I'm just not one for sticking out like a sign. That's all." She said, trying her best not to trip at Robin pulled her along at a sprint. Almost having been hit by a car, she promised herself that the next time Robin grabbed her hand, to watch where they were going. Because she really didn't want to become road kill. Looking around the store, Hanna smiled. "Wanna help me look for something?" She asked Robin, raising her eyebrows at the girl. Little kid clothes were cute. And, being little again, she was kind of happy. You weren't as innocent as you were a kid when you're an adult. But she feared she wouldn't be so 'innocent' as a kid either. Not with whatever had caused it.

Nate paused, pressing his lips together in thought. "Nate." He said with a sly smirk. It occurred to him that he needed new clothes as well while he was here, his usual suit was a bit... Big. His eyes scanned the area until he spotted something he liked. "Oh yes..." He muttered. He seemed to have forgotten all about the cooties now. He grinned, "Back in a jiffy!" He said suddenly and dashed off.

There was a moment's silence then a quiet humming filled the air. Nate strode back over to Mal, grin still in place, with a rather stylish blue suit, complete with tie. He winked, "always wear a suit. They're awesome." His face then darkened as he remembered the cruel horror at hand. He scanned her clothes and nodded his head from side to side in thought.

"You look..." He fumbled for word. He wound up stuttering on a word beginning with 'A.' He stopped himself, blushing slightly in embarassment. "Alright..." He settled on, "For a girl. Now take back the cooties." Nate's eyes suddenly danced into life as he stamped his foot. "Look!" He laughed watching the lights in the heel flash bright blue. "Pretty cool, huh?"

Mal rolled her eyes and then watched Nate carefully. His compliment stunk but it would have to do. She smiled in victory before reaching over and pretending to grab hold of something off of Nate's jacket. "There, now your cooties are gone."

She looked down at his shoes and gasping, "Whoa, man! That's rad! I wish mine lit up..."